Good morning Positivistas,
A fair night’s football I think all round. PSG area good quality football team with some excellent players and to split the points with them over two contests is probably what we would have accepted when the group was drawn, “par for the course”. A degree of frustration on my part last night as, at one point, we displayed the momentum to win the game, and allied to that quality we had two slices of luck that on another night would have won us the match. But just as the goddess bestows her favours so she snatches them away, as young Alex Iwobi is no doubt contemplating as he stares slack jawed into his ReadyBrek this morning.
I am afraid if you are anticipating any penetrating insights on the events on the field from me you are reading the wrong blog. Watching on the TV you saw a lot more than I did. I was tucked up toward the back of the Clock End, side on to the screen, and distracted for about an hour by a fellow Arsenal fan of such an unspeakably miserable disposition that had we been inmates of one of HMPs I would have pleaded for him to be put on suicide watch. As I mentioned last night so incoherent was he with disappointment and what he perceived to be the poverty of our display he stormed out after the Veratti own goal, never to be seen again. He also seemed to think we were playing Leicester. Between you and me I think he was a bit “drunk”. I expect he is out a usual this morning, knocking on doors and offering people a “spare bit of tarmac” he has from “another job” he has just finished “up the road” to repair their drive.
From what I did see of or lads it was a slow start all over the pitch. I expected the Parisians to start the game as they had in game one but both sides started warily, and it took a while for either to settle into a passing rhythm. It was not until half an hour had passed and PSG had run out of steam that we managed to get any grip on the game and string passes together. For the next 30 minutes I thought we were performing well enough to have won the game. We finally started getting some joy from crosses and finding Giroud. The final third of the game from my seat, now relieved of my burdensome companion, PSG stepped up a gear and showed the same flair they had displayed in September in Paris. Both sides traded blows, tried to win, with the French side probably enjoying the best chances.
For us I thought Olivier was good, as was Mesut, Aaron and Le Coq. Kosc was excellent against the very sharp Cavani.
For them I was impressed again with Matuidi and with Moura. Decisive, fast ball players. They would fit in anywhere.
Both sides sail serenely on to the Round of 16. I cannot really see Basel as more than a distraction. It is a non event, other than for the Swiss, and I suspect the manager will treat it as such. Since Herr Brych brought the curtain down last night I have read what seems about a dozen different permutations of who we might be drawn again in the next stage. The Devil in me knows it will be Barcelona, the rational being inside attaches no significance to the malign position of the planets. The nice thing is we need pay not attention until the draw on the 12th December, and even then two more months of important domestic football until the games begin on the 14th/15th February.
For any who have not seen the cartoon I could not let you miss it;
Onward to a very different prospect on Sunday and the Cherries of Bournemouth. Back to winning ways I think. Enjoy your week.
Positively Arsenal 
did the malcontent sat in front of you share his views on Ramsey per chance. He sounds the type.
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I doubt he knew who was playing eddy, though Vardy for some inexplicable reason came in for a tirade every few minutes
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The old fart’s thoughts
Not so long ago it seemed that we set up goal scoring chances just so we could miss many. Now? I wish I knew the real answer. For sure it’s not lack of desire and I don’t think that the absence of Santi is the only reason. Overall it seems fair to say that PSG out-Arsenaled Arsenal for much of this game. But there were signs, in particular the first 15 minutes of the second half that we still have the ability to make the opposition get into panic mode.
The highlight for me was the performance of Rambo who established his right to play central mid-field. He really was a success in a game where few Gooners shone. The tackle he made early on following a poor pass from either Kos or Shkodran (can’t remember exactly, both were guilty of a few) was great and his overall play was certainly at a higher level than most. Please no more of putting him anywhere just to get him on the field.
Having gone behind again, we struggled for the vast majority of the first half but Olly, Oz and Alexis combined well and we got a penalty when Alexis was tripped. Olly calmly stroked the kick home. There were some poltroons who said Alexis dived. Utter bull-s. When the guilty defender admits the trip to a French newspaper one does not really need the evidence of a non-streamed showing to prove the point. But it was good to have confirmation that the initial reaction was spot on.
And so to the second half when the Arsenal we all love showed up. Almost unbelievable and despite PSG hitting the bar with a fine free kick that I thought was wrongly awarded it was mostly one way with our pressure being rewarded with a lucky but well deserved own goal. 2-1 up and if my reaction that it would now be a doddle for us was shared by the players, it would explain how PSG forced their way back into the game and led us a merry dance for much of the remainder. They were equally well rewarded when they equalized…young Alex deflecting an about to be saved header past the unfortunate Oosp. Oosp went on to make some excellent stops for the rest of the game and so we miss out on top spot courtesy of the “head to head” rule. With PSG unlikely to lose at home, the one good thing that may emerge is that we can’t draw Bayern in the knock-out stage. Suppose we’ll just have to risk Barca.
A final thought. Somebody mentioned that picking the Ox at right back might be no bad thing until Hector’s fit again. Ox and Theo down the right flank…hmm. That could be a pleasant sight. Keep the faith
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Always amazes me that the miseries bother making the effort to go to games but there it is.
Twitter seemed to think we’d done badly against a lightly played side enjoying heavy investment and minimal genuine competition in their own joke of a league.
Felt sorry for Iwobi but not sure what else he could have done. Thought Cavani made a laughing stock of himself and enjoyed watching him get called out by Giroud at half time. We did look as if we’d go on to win at one point hence the slightly flat reaction of most to the eventual outcome; certainly Gibbs seemed to capture the overall mood in his post-match.
Expect Bournemouth to take on more real meaning, all things given, looking forward to tonight’s UEFA offerings …
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this from the comments of another blog sort of sums up the preset mindset of the ramsey scapegoaters, by the way at least half the comments in their match ratings thread were an attack on ramsey, and its that way every game.
To be fair, xhaka’s only contribution of note was overhitting a needlessly ambitious diagonal, thus ending quite a promising counter attack. Watching on a blurry stream, I actually mumbled “ffs, there was no need for that Ramsey, you showboating idio… oh, it was Xhaka.”
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AA, liam brady was very critical of Iwobi on the OG, said due to the header not being powerful the lad should have left it as he should have expected ospina to get it. Also that once he did go for it he needed to fully commit to it, but he basically panicked, Brady did put it down to inexperience.
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I think the Oracle of Alabama hit the nail on the head when she suggested that Aaron was like a conductor, employed to divert criticism harmlessly away from the manager. Or rather, that he is seen as Arsene’s favourite son, and so criticising him is the same as having a dig at the manager. And there is a certain type who sees him as having stolen Wilshere’s place. I think they are doing the same with Coquelin and Xhaka. Unraveling that logic, there are those out there who must genuinely believe that AW is actively engaged in doing the club down. All I can imagine is that it’s being so cheerful as keep them going.
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Thanks A5 for your usual, unique, insightful reportage. Unlike your balanced approach, the usual #CryBabies think PSG are mugs. Given the chances created they could easily have beat us, you know. As your cartoon so humorously illustrates, Cavani is a “dangerous” marksman. The good thing about AFC was our fight and desire to earn that draw. It may be redundant, but it is clearer and clearer without Santi, we are not as dangerous offensively. Wenger and the team will simply have to tough it out until he returns.
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@gf60. The data never lies. Put it another way; figures never lie, liars figure. You doubt whether our offensive drought is due to Santi’s absence. When he plays we average over 2 ppg and less than 2 when he doesn’t. He is a unique talent and he is vital for the way we play.
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That we are disappointed with a draw against a PSG squad that cost about £500 m, is testament to our team,which cost much less.
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Not that I heard what Liam Brady had to say about Iwobi eddy but looking at the second PSG goal this morning criticising him seems a bit harsh, presumably Jenks was also told off for allowing Lucas a virtually free header from the edge of the six yard box ?
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As for Krychowiak and his clueless effort to gift Alexis a penalty and Veratti’s shambolic own goal no doubt they attracted similar critical analysis
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Had Iwobi left it , Ospina would just have caught it, with ease. But, there was no thinking time for the young lad. It was instinct . Zero blame to be attached IMO.
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The other entertaining news today, entirely predictable, is ickle Tottingham frantically scrutinising the agreement they have with the FA and working out how to abandon Wembley before the ignominy of the Europa League is upon them. I suspect they must have a get out clause as even Daniel Levy is not that stupid.
I think some sort of Positively Arsenal sweepstake on the attendance is in order for their final game against CSKA at the home of football. I pick 41,000.
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Maybe the Barca we play next round wont be as as past sides…..Messi might even be injured, and we might have a few players back…now there’s optimism for you
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It is probably quite difficult for any interested supporter not to blame anyone. I am a terrible watcher, to be honest. Always assume the worst is about to happen, and am quick to anger. The conduit for my bile though is nearly always the ref, sometimes the sporting gods or fates.
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I cannot speak for other people or why they think or say some pretty controversial things about life in general or football in particular or individual players or the manager specifically.
Frankly, I do not often register such comments, I do not care about them, and I see little point in contradicting them as it would be to no avail – might as well talk to the wall, which could be more fulfilling.
People will often say the first thing that comes into their heads when they have been disappointed, or events have conformed to their confirmation bias, [you know what I mean – interpreting or using recalled events in a way that fits neatly with their dour pre-existing beliefs, without any balance given to alternative positive interpretations that may be more applicable and accurate] hence they apply little thought to their comments – so that is why they pass me by – and I them. lol
However, there are exceptions to my laissez-faire attitude, and I saw one of them today – well two, on the same subject. In today’s Times’ Arsenal match report, Henry Winter (among other things) declared that the dust up, after we were awarded a penalty for the foul on Sanchez, was embarrassing because Ramsey had claimed that Cavani had made contact with his face ( a serious offence ) when it was clear that Cavani had only pushed him in the chest (another offence) and had gone no where near Ramsey’s face.
This was backed up by an attached photograph showing Cavani clearly hitting or pinching Ramsey’s face. The Editor perhaps not having read Winter’s article, or wanting to make him look a mug? Confirmation bias rearing its ugly head again?
But wait there is more. Winter’s colleague, Gary Jacob, claimed that in the commotion after the penalty award, Ramsey had pushed Cavani twice in the chest, and had only thrown out his arm in retaliation without making contact, [and thus contradicting his colleague, Winter] and Ramsey had then clutched his face pretending he had been hit. Again with the photographic evidence right beside this inane article.
So perhaps a little understanding of angry, impassioned fans seeing things the way it suits them is in order, because it is evident that ‘professional’ journalist who are not impassioned Gunners fans are every bit as guilty as they are, with even less reason.
The game and the result last night were disappointing to me, too – but that is football – it is not the end of the world, some you win, some you lose, and last night we drew – big deal – the unpredictability of all sport including the emotional impact when watching football is what makes it so magical – yes please!
There is always another match in the offing, another game to get excited about and to chat to other fans about, another result to be ecstatic about or to be disappointed about — bring it on – as a Gooner I cannot wait, no matter what others tell me.
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Replays of their 2nd were a bit harrowing, but without seeing it at normal speed it’s hard to know if Iwobi had the time to make that slight adjustment to head it away.
My hunch is that a defender or most experienced players would’ve been that bit more on their toes and reacted in time. All hypothetical and, whatever the truth, no reason to be angry or annoyed with Iwobi.
Pain is arguably the best teacher there is and such a moment might be invaluable in Iwobi’s development, not just in defending-the-post scenarios but in all scenarios.
He seems a phenomenally nice kid, so we now see how he reacts in the short term to a sharp shock from the crueler aspects of the game. Well, I hope.
If we take real pride in being a club who are willing to do the work themselves of giving top young talent their first 50-100 games, instead of relying on others to do it, then swooping, we have to support the whole process.
Everyone does around here, no doubt, but it’s a shame the majority probably don’t.
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I thought Ramsey made our midfield confused in the first half, but only because it was his second game back after several months out. Once he took the game by the scruff of the neck, all I could here was Shotta’s words; “This is why Arsene plays Ramsey.” After he found his feet and started to figure things out in the middle, I thought he was our MOTM. I expect him to keep improving.
My MOTM runner ups were Olive, Koscielny, Ospina and Coquelin.
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@Shotta. I did say “I don’t think that the absence of Santi is the only reason.” Fair enough, a big part but not the whole. Cheers
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There comes a time when I have admit that I am perplexed – publicly admit it that is – oft times in private I am perplexed by many things but choose not to reveal that I am as baffled as a bafflie thing – usually, or more often than not, it has been the fairer sex who have run rings around me and left me grasping for understanding but that is another story. lol
No, this current perplexity arises from the disparity, evident to me anyway, between the team cohesion and tactical nous when we are in the ascendency and bossing matches, and those other occasions when we look lacklustre and seemingly unable to live up to our own billing.
Last night was an example of the latter. We certainly put the effort in, we clearly were striving to win, the team was pretty much the same, the players had the same talent available to them, and yet ….. there was a discernible difference to how some of the team were trying to play which was not reflected in the efforts of others.
For example — in each of the games we played where we were outstanding, we played a high pressing game. We harried the opposition, we hunted in packs to regain the ball and launch attacks, we fell back as one to defend our goal, and there was no evident difference in the approach by any of the team.
Contrasting that to last night, numerous times I saw Sanchez or Özil gesturing team mates to move forward, close down players and be available to help defend from the front.
Sanchez knew he was unable to make a difference closing down one player on his own because he was too easily bypassed, and he knew that so did the others, and they were not responding in a meaningful way.
And yet … we were playing a high line where vigorous pressing was essential. Instead, when we were moving forward with the ball, the support was frequently not there, so when the ball was lost, it was a case of one Arsenal player against two or three PSG players pressing hard and bossing the ball where we were not.
What do you think was the reason for the change of emphasis? If strong pressing worked so well for us, why did we seem to stop doing it. Did PSG simply have too many better players than us – was it a planned change in tactics, has the tiring international break sucked away our players energy?
I am baffled, perplexed, and lost for an answer. Come on Anicoll – you must know, and seeing the game from within the stadium is much better for an overall view of what is going on, than the limited views afforded by TV cameras that just follow the ball. lol
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My snap answer is the quality of the opposition Henry. Taking on sides who allow us an that split second of extra time, or space (see the General Theory of Relativity for further details) makes a massive +++ difference to the execution of Wengerball.
I think we find it much more difficult to impose out game and earn that ‘extra second’ of space against physically strong, high energy teams.
Fair enough there is no need for us to change against the Sunderlands or the Ludogorets of the football world. We can and do impose ourselves.
But if on any given matchday after an hour it does not work, if the Wengerball is not rolling, then what then ??
Where we have defeated good teams, Bayern last season for example, it is in games where we have adapted our game. Our standard game would not have defeated Bayern. I hesitate to add the Mancs or Spuds to that “good teams” list but that same stalemate over the past two PL games.
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HenryB @ 2:33pm. I had the same discussion with a sibling during the game who was convinced that to not press PSG was bad tactics. It was my observation that PSG is not an easy team to press. They have excellent players in midfield and defense who are very comfortable with the ball and if you go in gung-ho with the press they will easily open you up and spring their forwards. Thiis was evident in the frequency they caught us on the break after moving the ball around slowly and purposefully. My problem was in the 1st 30 minutes Ozil allowed his man (Veratti) too much time and space. He needed to close him down. Of course he would argue that it would take up a lot of energy which he needs to conserve for offensive action. The problem is once we couldn’t get meaningful possession PSG had time to boss it and create opportunities. Once Ramsey got in tune with how to play them we were better off. Its when we regained possession and promptly turn over the ball that I missed our Little Magician.
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Thank you both , Anicoll and Shotta.
It is good to have intelligent responses to footie questions that are backed up with reasoned arguments.
I suspected that PSG may have just got too many good players and had our measure, and you both have said much the same. The physicality aspect has worried me for some time now, and that is something else I have often wondered about; why did the Boss change from having imposing players with great skill, and switch over the last years since the invincible to smaller men with skill?
Ironically, having shown other managers the way, so to speak, the ‘big’ teams have taken that word literally and have taken on some much bigger players, while we have downsized.
Arsene must have his reasons, but it is true that we are sometimes bullied out of our game, but perhaps AW thinks that in the swings and roundabouts of football the small, pacy, skilful player is the way to go. Who is going to argue with him? Not me. lol
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One thing PSG have that we very rarely encounter are two good wingers, Matuidi is tall, strong, fast and with a good touch. He would create mayhem in the EPL I think. They have Lucas Moura another tough little winger, and Ben Arfa lurking in the background. That is a sharp set of tools to break open any defence.
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Anicoll,
I owe you an apology — having read your first class post-match Post, I meant to thank you and compliment the usual high quality which makes reading so enjoyable.
I was interrupted by a very wonderful smelling cup of coffee and completely forgot what I had intended to do.
So belatedly, can I reiterate that was a high quality piece of work, and thank you.
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Anicoll,
Good points — oddly enough a few years back, Matuidi was always quoted as saying how much he respected and wanted to play for Arsene and Arsenal, so much so that it became a transfer window certainty, and a source of amusement to me, on the grounds that any player ‘imploring’ AW to sign him was doomed to failure.
Well the last bit was true – but he has, as you said, developed into a very good player, and I now regret dismissing him as I am sure he was quite sincere, and did want to play for Arsene. [Maybe most of them do – but money speaks loudest!]
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When Matuidi joined PSG he was much more a defensive midfield player, a Beast. He may still do that in some games but where I have noticed his best work for club and country out wide
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EMI MARTINEZ SIGNS NEW CONTRACT
Emiliano Martinez has committed his future to the club by signing a new long-term contract.
‘Emi’ has been our League Cup goalkeeper this season, helping the team to a quarter-final against Southampton next week with clean sheets in both previous rounds.
The highly rated 24-year-old first joined Arsenal’s academy as a teenager in 2010.
He has made 10 senior appearances for us since then, gaining competitive experience on loan spells with Oxford United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United and Wolves.
We would like to congratulate Emi on his new deal and look forward to his continued progress with the club.
Emiliano Martinez says his new contract is a big step in his journey to becoming our No 1 goalkeeper.
The Argentinian stopper agreed a new deal on Thursday after helping us reach the League Cup quarter-finals this season, and is delighted to commit his future to the club.
“It feels amazing to be honest,” the 24-year-old told Arsenal Player. “I’ve been here for six or seven years already and to have the opportunity to sign a new deal is a great achievement for me and my family.
“This is a big step for me, signing a new deal for Arsenal, training every day with big goalkeepers, big players and I feel like I’m one of them now. I really want to reach the top level.
“Arsenal means everything to me. I grew up here, I learnt English here and I’ve got everything in the UK. I love this club and I want to be the No 1 goalkeeper here for many years.
“Since I signed for this club, Gerry Peyton told me that I had great talent and that I was the future. I think this moment is now and I’m trying to push forward. The boss is giving me the League Cup and I’m trying to prove myself, to show the fans and everyone how good I am.
“It’s not just about playing well in a game, it’s about being the first one to arrive and the last one to leave training too. I’m one of them, which is why my future is here.”
Copyright 2016 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source
Read more at http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20161124/martinez-signs-new-contract#k393oCXOxR6lpDy1.99
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anicoll @ 11.20am, re spurs and wembley
if I’m not mistaken not only would spurs have to get permission from the FA to abandon Wembley, but they would also have to get permission from UEFA, as clubs have to list the ground they will play their home games at, and as far as I know they can not deviate from the ground the list, and certainly not for something as trivial as not being able to sell tickets
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‘EMI HAS ALL THE NEEDED QUALITIES’
Arsène Wenger says Emi Martinez has “all the qualities” needed to become a Premier League goalkeeper.
The Argentine stopper signed a new long-term contract on Tuesday after making 10 first-team appearances, and Wenger believes he has the attributes required to succeed here in the future.
“If you look at him, I personally see all the top qualities that a goalkeeper needs,” the manager told Arsenal Player.
“He has the stature, he has the passion, he has the technical quality, he has the decision-making, he has huge power and he’s not frightened of anything.
“I remember a game at Anderlecht in the Champions League – it was a decisive game where he saved us. In the League Cup, every time he plays, he does extremely well. I am very happy that he committed, because I think he is the future goalkeeper at this club.”
Copyright 2016 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source
Read more at http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20161122/-emi-has-all-the-qualities-that-are-need#KwAwLzGjPDcpKDM3.99
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Henry
I think they effectively made it a four on two battle yesterday. Matuidi is, as Anicoll said, a wonderful player, and you’d struggle to find a wide player more suited to the midfield battle.
I thought Utd got on top of us 2nd half by pushing forward to make it a 3 on 2 battle in the middle and PSG basically did that from the off, only with Matuidi making life even harder. With Moura adding a huge running threat and a mobile, top class defence behind them just in case we got past that smothering midfield, they were tremendously tough opponents for us.
We got our first thanks to managing to get into the sort of position we crave- Ozil and Sanchez able to link high up and in space- and the second was reward for our change of approach to high intensity high press football.
We just went for it basically. High risk, high energy, all out going for it. Could or rather should the players do this from the offset? Phhhh, probably not. Or at least it seems hard to imagine trying that out early on against last night’s opposition
After that, there was the a rare instance of commentators actually calling it correctly : our players looked unsure about whether to proceed with caution or commit to more of that high energy, high risk stuff in the hope of a killer third. They pushed for a few minutes if I remember right, and then, once that flow was disrupted, didn’t start it up again.
I don’t blame them in the slightest for that. It’s a hard call and they probably made the right one. They’ve certainly been slammed enough in the past for pushing more than is deemed wise.
My only question is whether they are training a lot specifically for that situation : the lead against difficult opponents who are going to come at you hard- what is our approach?
Do we have ideas about which players in the squad are best suited to the task, whatever that task actually is – i.e push hard for another; or wait patiently, with firm emphasis on defence, while we wait for the right opportunity to counter?
I think we have definitely shifted towards looking to defend what we have and wait for the right opportunity to attack. However…it feels like something is not quite right in how we go about it. Is it official policy, with everyone knowing their new role and what they are trying to do? I don’t get that impression and the sight of players higher up the pitch bemoaning the lack of support to press the opposition strongly suggests there is no predetermined plan to fall back.
Wenger’s comment makes it quite clear that his wish and presumably what he coaches for is that we go for it when leading and try to push hard for another goal :
‘We had a very strong start again in the second half, where we were dominant until it was 2-1 and after we dropped off and didn’t maintain the pressure and we paid for that’
I don’t think we’ve found our way to play yet in the absence of Cazorla, but hopefully we will soon and the issues of the moment will be resolved.
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I entirely agree Eddy Spurs will have signed some sort of contract with the FA taking them into the later phases on the CL (or Europa). As I said though surely Levy is not daft enough to let himself be tied in to Wembley irrespective of the competition. My guess is there would be a break payment the neighbours woud have to cough up.
As for the UEFA regulations on designating a ground goodness knows – they make up the rules as they go along. My admittedly vaguer recollection is that when v small clubs get into the later stages of competitions they can move the tie to a bigger stadium.
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Arsenal have been overloading opponents down the left with combos between Alexis, Ozil Iwobi and Cazorla. A quadrangle that squared the opposition up and left them open for Bellerin and Walcott to exploit the space on the opposite right.
Such synchronicity is not easily reproduced, compare England’s recent games, one with no training beforehand and the other with a little more. And bearing in mind that the HFB and Ramsey completed their pre-seasons last night.
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henryb 2.33pm, re our pressing game
I think the players are instructed to press in groups in games, but of course would also be warned not to leave the back door open, so any player who is a little worried, or maybe a lot worried about his direct opponent or views the game as been one of the bigger games, will be hesitant, and that is all it takes for the pressing game to be sub par, one weak link in the change and others then get hesitant, and that one weak link, becomes two, then three then four, until there is no one looking to press. Oddly enough once we go behind the pressure is actually off, as the worst has already happened, so all of a sudden our players start pressing as a group and we look like the team we want to be.
It also works the other way, when we press and are on top and take the lead, we then sometimes stop pressing cos there is the fear of leaving gaps in behind, so we retreat that five yards, the opposition get to attack more, so we retreat another five yards etc.
To me there is no doubt that the most difficult thing to get right in a team is the mindset, getting them to believe in themselves no matter who the opposition is.
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Both goals for afc came off the back of good momentum, as people say ‘they were coming’, same as PSG’s first even though both openers were either team’s first and only shots on target in the first half.
Good game of football.
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Good luck pressing for ninety minutes whilst playing in the CL and PL every three days
Please note Liverpool and the diving cloggers have in recent times attempted and failed to Press constantly whilst playing every three days.
Not possible. Not even for Klopp in his own words.
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Adrian Clarke @adrianjclarke 11h11 hours ago
Re: Arsenal, for what it’s worth I thought Ramsey was one of the better players last night. Not everything came off, but showed drive.
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Positively Arsenal @Blackburngeorge 16m16 minutes ago Blackburn, England
Shame Jack can’t play on Sunday,Jack V Ramsey in MF would be the ultimate battle of the twitter fanboys.
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Aaron got through loads of Le Coq type tackles and for that alone he was one of our better players. As for young Alex there is no doubt he tires in games both mentally and physically and I think this played apart in his reaction time although like many have said were talking split seconds here. Again I thought we needed subs on a little earlier as we knew they were going to have to throw the kitchin sink at us after we scored and even before then Jenks was struggling down his side.
Good to see Martinez sign a new contract yet another brilliant young player tied to the club and as Arsene put it the media will have to make up another name to link away from the club.
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Andy
There’s a rumour doing the rounds that the Tiny Totts are asking Teresa May to negotiate on their behalf to get out of Europe by Xmas.
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November so far
Drawing with Tottenham, Man. Utd. And PSG while nowhere near at our team’s best.
Ramsey making a comeback.
Giroud being handsome again.
Alexis not injured.
Some crisis.
Only blot on the copybook is wee Santi not being available when we need him desperately.
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dc I don’t know about a November crisis, but according to some of the malcontents the club has been in a crisis for at least 10 years.
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Pochettino admits Spurs can’t financially compete with title rivals due to stadium move http://bit.ly/2fvfjg1
well well well, who would have thought that building a new stadium would impact on the money available for team building, does pochettino saying this move him to the not a modern manager list.
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Telegraph Football @TeleFootball 22h22 hours ago
Carl Jenkinson: ‘Reaching the last 16 of the Champions League isn’t easy. Just ask Spurs’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/11/24/reaching-last-16-isnt-easy-just-look-spurs-arsenals-carl/ …
ha ha ha ha, good lad Carl.
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Good Lord – we have passed the 70,000 comments mark. Here is the first and PA began;
“pedantic george
January 29, 2013 at 10:14 am Edit
Frank can be as colourful as he likes as often as he likes .
Isn’t it just peachy Shotta, the old faces ?”
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I fell asleep, so missed most of the 1st half.
Thanks A5, such a fitting review, and sorry you had that person near you. Well dealt with.
Great comments all round. A quick shout out to Passenal cos your assessment/summary – hit the spot.
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TEAM NEWS: SANTI, LUCAS AND BELLERIN
Who’s coming back? Who’s unavailable?
As usual the boss opened up his press conference on Friday with the team news, so catch up on the latest right here:
on team news…
I don’t think from the other night we have any injuries, so everybody should be available. In cases like Cazorla and Bellerin, they are still out. We have nobody coming back.
on Lucas…
Lucas is for the first time in training today [Friday]. He might be in contention for Wednesday [against Southampton], but one training session is not enough to be involved on Sunday.
Copyright 2016 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source
Read more at http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20161125/team-news-santi-lucas-and-bellerin#hdpEWvhTtEIqDIES.99
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